winship] ORGANIZATION OF THE EXPEDI1ION 377 



spring of 1540 — had become a serious one to tbe viceroy. The most 

 desirable employment for all this idle energy would be, of course, the 

 exploration and conquest of new country, or the opening of the border 

 territory for permanent settlement. But no mere work for work's sake, 

 no wild-goose chase, would do. These young gentlemen had many 

 friends near to Charles V, who would have resented any abuse of 

 privilege or of confidence. A suitable expedition could be undertaken 

 only at considerable expense, and unless the cost could all be made 

 good to the accountants in Spain, complaints were sure to be preferred 

 against even the best of viceroys. So Mendoza entertained his guests 

 as best he could, while they loafed about his court or visited his stock 

 farms, and he anxiously watched the reports which came from the offi- 

 cials of the northwestern province of New Galicia and from the priests 

 who were wandering and working among the outlying Indian tribes. 

 When, late in the summer of 1539, Friar Marcos returned from tbe north, 

 bringing the assurance that Cibola was a desirable field for conquest, 

 the viceroy quickly improved the opportunity for which he had been 

 waiting. Within a month and a half Mendoza had begun to organize 

 the force which was to conquer this new country. 



Compostela, on the Pacific coast, was announced as the place at 

 which the force should assemble. The viceroy desired to have the 

 army begin its march so soon as the roads were rjassable in the spring, 

 and he wished also to relieve the Indians living in the districts between 

 Mexico and the coast from as much as possible of the annoyance and loss 

 which would be inevitable if the army started from Mexico and inarched 

 through this territory in a body. How much this forethought for the 

 Indians was needed appears from Mendoza's reply to the accusations 

 against him filed during the visita of 1547, which showed that all his 

 care had not saved the Indians of Michoacan from needless injury at 

 the hands of those who were on their way to join the gathering at Com- 

 postela. Incidentally, this arrangement also gave the capital city an 

 earlier relief from its unwelcome guests. 



Popular as was the expedition to the Seven Cities, there was a little 

 opposition to the undertaking. When it became evident that a large 

 force was about to leave the country, some of those who were to re- 

 main behind complained that all New Spain was being depopulated, 

 and that no one would be left to defend the country in case of an 

 Indian uprising. When Mendoza reached Compostela, by the middle 

 of February, 1540, Coronado asked him to make an official investiga- 

 tion of these complaints. The formal request is dated February 21, 

 and on the following day, Sunday, the viceroy held a grand review of 

 the whole array, with everyone ready equipped for the march. As the 

 men passed before the viceregal party the secretaries made an exact 

 count and description of the force, but this document is not now known. 

 Its loss is partly supplied by the sworn testimony of the officials who 

 were best acquainted with the inhabitants of all parts of New Spain, 



